The Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Triangle Freethought Society, its Raleigh-area chapter, will â€świn hearts and minds for reason and secularismâ€ť on the weekend of May 2-3 at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel, 421 South Salisbury St., in downtown Raleigh, N.C.

The conference is for the convenience of Southern and East Coast FFRFâ€™ers but all are welcome. Plan now to avoid disappointment. The convention will provide both edification and entertainment.

Phone the Raleigh Sheraton at 1-800-325-3535 by April 16 and identify yourself as an FFRF member. The rates are $129 single/double, $139 triple, $149 quad and $169 club, plus tax.

Entertainment includes Raleigh's Village Idiots, a local comedy troupe; Dan Barker; FFRF co-president, aka â€śThe Singing Atheist,â€ť whoâ€™ll entertain at the piano; a complimentary cake reception; and two group meals, including Saturdayâ€™s Non-Prayer Breakfast and a drawing for â€śclean,â€ť pre-â€śIn God We Trustâ€ť currency. Filmmaker Scott Burdickâ€™s 25-minute documentary â€śSophia Goes to the Good News Clubâ€ť will air, featuring local student Sophia Winkler, who will receive a student activist award at the event.

Confirmed speakers include:

â€˘ Randy Bender, a former Evangelical Lutheran Church of America pastor.

â€˘ Bart Ehrman, who is James A. Gray Professor, Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and writes â€śThe Bart Ehrman Blog.â€ť He is author of numerous books including Did Jesus Exist? and Forged, which exposes deliberate forgeries in the New Testament. He graduated from Wheaton College and received both of his Masters of Divinity and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary.

â€˘ Max Nielson, winner of FFRFâ€™s 2012 Thomas Jefferson Student Activist Award, is one of 3 plaintiffs in FFRFâ€™s lawsuit over unconstitutional graduation prayer at Irmo High School, S.C., and school board prayer. Heâ€™s founded a chapter of the Secular Student Alliance at the College of Charleson. He interned last summer as social media manger of the Secular Coalition and remains a volunteer social media manager.

â€˘ Michael Nugent, founder and chair of Atheist Ireland. Michael will fly in from Dublin to give an international flavor to the conference and talk about Irish issues, as well as the growing number of blasphemy prosecutions around the world.

â€˘ Todd Stiefel, a Raleigh local, FFRF Lifetime Member and head of the Stiefel Freethought Foundation, which has sparked much freethought activism and was an integral sponsor of the Reason Rally. Todd graduated cum laude from Duke University, worked 12 years for Stiefel Laboratories and is now a full-time freethought activist. Toddâ€™s speech will be titled, â€śThe Importance of Living Out.â€ť

â€˘ Mandisa Thomas, founder and president of Black Nonbelievers, Inc., based in Atlanta. She was featured in a recent issue of JET magazine and is a frequent guest speaker. A married mother of three, she works to encourage more blacks to come out and stand strong as nonbelievers.

â€˘ Former clergy in the Raleigh area who are now part of the Clergy Project. FFRFâ€™s Dan Barker is also administrator of the volunteer support group for clergy still in the pulpit who â€śhave seen the light.â€ť He will emcee the panel, which will include Candace R.M. Gorham, a local chapter member who left the ministry and is the author of The Ebony Exodus Project: Why Some Black Women Are Walking Out on Religion â€” and Others Should Too. Matt Killingsworth, a former Pentecostal minister and Texas Bible College grad.

Other panelists and speakers will be announced as the schedule is finalized.

The mini-convention will include FFRF traditions such as a complimentary dessert reception on opening night, a Non-Prayer Breakfast, a drawing for â€śclean,â€ť pre-â€śIn God We Trustâ€ť currency and entertainment at the piano by Dan, who will co-emcee the conference with Annie Laurie Gaylor of FFRF. Chapter activists will run a â€śMeet and Greetâ€ť social where participants can meet speakers and activists.

Formal proceedings start at 7 p.m. Friday, May 2 (dinner on your own) with registration opening up earlier. Two optional group meals will begin and end Saturday (with Saturday lunch on your own). The event will conclude by 10 p.m. Saturday. Late-afternoon workshops may be scheduled (to be announced) for Friday afternoon.